Space (ANCHOR): ISRO launched SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) on 30 December 2024 aboard PSLV-C60. India became the fourth country to demonstrate in-orbit docking technology.
Judiciary: Parliament's Committee on Subordinate Legislation examined judicial accountability mechanisms, including impeachment procedures under Articles 124 and 217.
Economy: India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) completed its second anniversary. Bilateral trade grew 10 per cent in Year 2.
Health: The MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease) nomenclature formally replaced NAFLD in India's clinical guidance.
1. SpaDeX Launch: India's Docking Milestone
GS area: Science and Technology
ISRO successfully launched the SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission on 30 December 2024 at 21:58 IST aboard PSLV-C60 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
Satellites:
SDX01 (Chaser): 220 kg.
SDX02 (Target): 220 kg.
Both deployed into a 470-km circular orbit at 55-degree inclination.
Mission objective: Demonstrate rendezvous, docking, undocking, transfer of electrical power between docked spacecraft and satellite control from another orbiting spacecraft.
Fourth nation: Russia (1967: Cosmos 186 and 188), USA (1966: Gemini 8 astronauts first crewed dock), China (2011: Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong-1). India joins this club.
Why docking matters for India:
Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS): India's planned modular space station requires docking to assemble in orbit.
Gaganyaan: Rescue missions or crew transfers require docking capability.
Chandrayaan future missions: Lunar sample return missions require rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit.
Satellite servicing and refuelling.
PSLV-C60 specifics: The 60th flight of India's PSLV. Used the PSLV-XL configuration (four strap-on boosters). PSLV has a success rate above 95 per cent across 60 flights.
SpaDeX docking event timeline: The actual docking manoeuvre was planned for approximately 15 days post-launch (mid-January 2025) after orbital phasing, approach and proximity operations.
Static linkage: Science and technology (ISRO, SpaDeX, space docking, Gaganyaan, BAS, PSLV).
2. Judicial Accountability: Impeachment Framework
GS area: Polity
Parliamentary committee discussions on judicial independence and accountability prompted a review of India's impeachment framework.
Article 124(4): Removal of Supreme Court judges. Must be by an order of the President, passed by each House of Parliament by special majority: (a) a majority of the total membership of that House and (b) a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting.
Article 217(1)(b): Removal of High Court judges. Same parliamentary procedure applies.
Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968: Provides the detailed procedure. A motion for removal must be signed by at least 100 Lok Sabha members or 50 Rajya Sabha members.
Process: On receipt of the motion, the Speaker/Chairman refers it to a three-member inquiry committee (one Supreme Court judge, one Chief Justice of a High Court, and one distinguished jurist). If the committee finds the judge guilty, the motion proceeds to a vote.
No judge removal in India's history: No Supreme Court or High Court judge has been successfully removed via impeachment. An attempt against Justice V. Ramaswami in 1993 failed when the motion was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
In-house procedure: The Supreme Court has an internal mechanism for minor misconduct. Serious complaints are addressed by the Chief Justice of India.
3. India-Australia ECTA: Two Years of Trade Impact
GS area: International Relations, Economy
The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) marked its second anniversary on 29 December 2024 (provisional application started 29 December 2022).
ECTA basics: An interim trade agreement preceding a full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). Signed in April 2022; provisionally applied from December 2022.
Tariff cuts: Australia granted zero-duty access to 96.4 per cent of India's exports by value (covering 100 per cent of Indian goods tariff lines). India reduced tariffs on 85 per cent of Australian goods.
Key Indian exports benefiting: Textiles (zero duty), leather, jewellery, furniture, engineering goods, and processed food.
Key Australian exports: Coal (continued at reduced duty), wine, wool, almonds, copper, and education services.
Bilateral trade growth: About 10 per cent growth in Year 2 of ECTA (reaching approximately 26 billion USD).
India-Australia defence: Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2020). Joint exercises: Malabar (trilateral with USA and Japan), AUSINDEX (India-Australia naval exercise).
Static linkage: International relations (India-Australia, trade agreements, ECTA, CECA).
4. Siang Upper Multipurpose Project
GS area: Environment, Economy, Geography
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh was in the news as part of India's strategic response to China's Brahmaputra dam.
Location: On the Siang river (the Brahmaputra as it flows through Arunachal Pradesh before entering Assam).
Capacity: 11,000 MW (if fully built). One of the largest proposed hydropower projects in India.
Cost: Approximately 1.13 lakh crore rupees.
Executing agencies: NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) and NEEPCO (North Eastern Electric Power Corporation).
Strategic rationale: China is building a 60,000 MW dam on the upper Brahmaputra in Tibet. The SUMP would serve as a buffer: a large reservoir in Arunachal Pradesh could mitigate sudden water releases from China's dam.
Environmental concerns: The Siang valley is ecologically sensitive. Tribal communities (Adi people) have protested the project. The river is a critical fishing ground.
India's medical community adopted the global consensus nomenclature change for fatty liver disease.
NAFLD: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. The previous term. Problem: "non-alcoholic" was stigmatising and did not accurately describe the metabolic drivers.
MASLD: Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease. New term adopted globally in 2023 and formally integrated into India's clinical guidelines in 2024.
MASH: Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis. New term for what was previously NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis). A more severe inflammatory form.
Epidemiology: India has one of the world's highest burdens of fatty liver disease. About 38 per cent of adult Indians have MASLD, driven by: type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, central obesity, metabolic syndrome.
Diagnosis: Liver ultrasound (first-line), FibroScan (elastography to detect fibrosis), liver biopsy (gold standard but invasive).
Link to cirrhosis and liver cancer: Untreated MASH can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Crimea remained a key geopolitical flashpoint as the Russia-Ukraine war entered its third year.
Geography: A peninsula in the northern Black Sea, connected to mainland Ukraine by the Isthmus of Perekop and to Russia by the Crimea Bridge (Kerch Strait Bridge, opened 2018).
History: Part of Russia from 1783 (Catherine the Great). Transferred to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 by Soviet leader Khrushchev. Remained part of Ukraine after 1991 Soviet dissolution.
2014 annexation: Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 following a disputed referendum. Most UN members reject the annexation. UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 affirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Sevastopol: Major port city. Home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Significance: Crimea controls access to the Sea of Azov and is strategically vital for both Russia's naval projection and Ukraine's sovereignty.
Static linkage: Geography (Black Sea, Crimea), international relations (Russia-Ukraine, sovereignty).
7. Briefly noted
India's logistics cost: India spends approximately 14 per cent of GDP on logistics, compared to 8 per cent in advanced economies. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (2021) aims to reduce this through multimodal infrastructure. The SMILE programme (ADB 350 million USD loan) supports logistics modernisation.
Vembanad Lake geography (preview): India's longest lake (96.5 km), located in Kerala across Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts. A Ramsar site (designated 2002). Connected to the Kuttanad below sea-level farming region.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
ISRO's SpaDeX mission launched on 30 December 2024 aims to demonstrate space docking. Which of the following correctly identifies the order of countries that first demonstrated autonomous in-orbit docking?
Check yourself
Under Article 124(4) of the Indian Constitution, a Supreme Court judge may be removed by the President only if the removal resolution is passed by each House of Parliament by:
Check yourself
The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) is significant because:
Check yourself
MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease) replaces the earlier term NAFLD. What was the primary reason for this nomenclature change?
Check yourself
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is located on which river?